Magazine and breechblock latching means for firearms



NOV- 28,l 1944 v. A. BRowNlNG 2,363,772

MAGAZINE AND BREECH LocK LATCHING MEANS FOR FIREARMS original Filed July 9, 1941 wf-l l l @E Snventor VwZ d?, rowna'ng 45 OM vwM/w ttornegs Patented Nov. 28, 1944 MAGAZINE AND BREECHBLOCK LATCHING MEANS FOR FIREARMS i Val A. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assignor to J. M. & M. S. Browning Company, Ogden, Utah, a

corporation of Utah Original application July 9, 1941, Serial No.-

Divided and this application December 31, 1942, Serial No. 470,845

(Cl. L1.?.18)

4 Claims.

. The aim of the invention is to provide an im-Iv proved latching arrangement'for releasably securing` thecartridge magazine in position and for automatically latching the breech block in its .retracted position after the last cartridge is fired or manually latching the breech block in its retracted. position at will. More particularly, the aim of the invention is to providea latching arrangement of this sort which is very simple in arrangement, which is economical in construction and application, which is effective in its automatic operation, and which may be conveniently and quickly operated manually.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and. arrangement of parts which will be exemplied `in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

l'n the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of so much of a iirearm as is necessary to illustrate one application of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but on a larger scale and with parts in section along a vertical plane taken centrally through the receiver;

Fig. 3`is a transverse sectional view through the-receiver and shows the magazine latch in front elevation, this View being taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking rearwardly in the direction of the arrows, the magazine and'the wooden holder I6 being omitted;

Fig.' 4 is a detail View showing a portion of themagazine in horizontal section, the rear end ofithe follower in top elevation, and a portion vof the stop-open latch in broken lines; and

Fig. 5 is a view showing the forward end of the trigger plate in perspective.

Referring more in detail-to the drawing, I

the present invention particularly relates.

have shown, for illustrative purposes, the present invention incorporated in a firearm constructed in accordance with the disclosure of my said applicationv Serial No. 401,602, it being understood that this disclosure is by way of exemplication only. In thisdrawing, A denotes generally a receiver which is in the form of a cylindrical tube; B, a barrel secured in suitable manner to the forward end of the receiver; C, a breech block comprising a recoil mass mounted for reciprocation Within the receiver; D, a cartridge magazine of the usual construction; and E, a trigger plate located within the receiver and supporting, at its forward end, the magazine latch I 0 and the stop-open latch I I to which The letter F designates a firing pin slidably mounted'in aY central or axial bore I3 inthe breech block. The letter G designates the trigger of the triggermechanism which controls the firing of the firearm, the trigger mechanism not being shown in detail as the particular construction thereof forms no part of the present invention. It is, of course, understood that there willy be located behind the recoil mass which includes the breech block C, a recoil spring for absorbing the shock incident to the rearward movement of the recoil mass whenthe gun is fired and-for then moving the recoil mass forwardly to its closed position, 4and also that there Will be a spring behind the ring pin for urging thesame forwardly when it is released from cocked position, these springs not being shown in the drawing as they form no part of the present invention.

As stated, the receiver A is preferably in the form of a cylindrical tube to the forward end of which theY rear end of the barrel B is secured in the usual manner. The receiver, adjacent its forward end and on its under side, is longitudinally slotted, as at I 4, to provide a loading opening which accommodates the upper end of the replaceable magazine D. Secured to the for.- ward end of the receiver, as by means of a screw I5, is a wooden holder I6 of generally U-shape in cross section4 so as to receive the magazine. Secured to theholder, as by means of .a screw Il, is. a rectangular shaped band or guide I8 into which the magazine is adapted to be slipped to the position shown in Fig. 2. The receiver, adjacent its'forward end and on its right hand side. has an ejection opening I9 through which a lspent lcase is thrown upon recoil of the breech block in-the usual manner. The trigger plate Ejis in'the form of a-particylindrical member of the breech block engages this stop 53.

with 'its under side conforming to, and seating snugly against. the interior periphery of the receiver rearwardly of the loading opening. This plate may be secured in place by a screw 25. The upper surface of the plate to opposite sides of the center line thereof is flat and smooth so as to provide lands 2| which'slidably vsupport the breech block ,C during the recoil and for--v ward movements thereof. The trigger plate, at its forward end, is slotted, as at 22, so as to accommodate the latches I and Il. The breech blockC comprises a parti-cylindrical member slidably tting within the receiver above the trigger plate. The under side of the breech block is longitudinally grooved, as at 23, to each side of its center line thereof and has laterally, beyond these grooves, flat surfaces 24 which slidably engage the lands 2l. The under wall of the bore I3 is longitudinally slotted, as at 25, so as to accommodate an ejector which may be of the usual construction and which is carried by the forward end `of the trigger plate between the pivoted ends of the latches Ill and Il. Mounted on the forward end of the breech block is an extractor 3| for withdrawing the spent case from the firing chamberof the barrel upon recoil of the breech block when the gun is fired. This extractor may be of the ordinary kind, the same being diagrammatically shown in the drawing. l

The magazine latch and the stop-open latch A*will now be described. Themagazine, as is usual.

has a box or body Aportion within which is a follower spring 36 bearing at its upper end against a follower 31 (see Fig. 2). The follower yat its rear end, has a` rearward extension A38 which extends into a slot in the filler piece 39 secured to the wall of Athe magazine box (see Fig'. 4). The magazine'latch I0 and thev stop-open latch I I are pivoted at their upper ends on a pin 40 carried by the forward end of the trigger plate and bridging the slot 22 thereof. This pin also supports the ejector 30 which is interposed between the upper ends of the two latches l0 .and Il. The rear end of the ejector is engaged vwithI the trigger platel as at 4I and with a stop pin-42 so that it is maintained against turning The magazine latch has, at its lower end, a

hook 45 which is adapted to engage a shoulder y 46 provided in the rear wall of the magazine body whereby to hold the magazine in place. Extending rearwardly 'from the lower end of the magazine latch is a finger piece v41 whereby the latch Ymay be manually withdrawn from magazine holding position. The stop-open latch is mounted for swinging movement with, and also for up and down movement relative to, the magazine latch. To these ends, the stop-open latch, adjacent its upper end, has an elongated slot 48 which receives the pivot pin 4U, and the stopi open latch intermediate its ends carries a screw' 49 provided with a reduced end which engages in an elongated vertical slot 50 in the magazine latch. The stop-open latch` has at its upper endV a forwardly extending arm 52, the under sur-= face of which is adapted to be engaged by the rearward lextension 38 of the follower when the last cartridge in the magazine has been removed therefrom. This arm, at its upper side, has a rearwardly facing stop or shoulder 53 located.f

beneath the surface 23' which constitutes the upper wall of the left hand groove 23 in the breech block. When the stop-open latch is in its operative holding position, the forward end The stop-open latch Il at its lower end hasa finger piece 55. The magazine latch is forced into the latching position shown in Fig. 2 by a strong helical spring 51 and a plunger 58 positioned in a bore in the forward end of the trigger plate.

When the magazine with cartridges therein is inserted inthe firearm, the cartridges 'are held by the filler piece 3S far enough forward so as not to interfere with the stop-open latch. However, after the last cartridge in the magazine has been fed by the advancing breech block to the firing chamber, the rearward extension 38 of the follower 31 engages the under side of the arm 52 of the stop-open latch so that the follower spring 36 urges the stop- 53 against the surface 23 ofthe breechblock. Upon firing of the last cartridge, the breech block will recoil and the' follower 'spring 36 will raise the stop-open latch Il so as to position the stop 53 thereof Yin front of the forward end of the breech block. As the breech block strikes the stop-open latch, the latter swingsslightly on its pivot and as the magazine latch is connected to the stop open latch by the screw 49, the latterlatch swings rearwardly out of engagement with the magazine. Thus, after the last cartridge is fired, the breech block is automatically stopped in its open position and the empty magazine is automatically released from the firearm. It willk be noted that when the breech block thus strikes the stop 53 of the stopopen latch, the comparatively stiff helical spring 51 is compressed and thusv the stopping of the forward movement of the breech block is cushioned.v To reload the firearm, a full magazine is placed in position and the stop-open latch is man -ually moved downwardly whereupon the breech observed that the magazine latch and stop-open y I latch are relatively simple in construction and the parts may be economically manufactured and assembled. Each of the latches comprises but one part. These two parts are pivoted on the same pin and are so connected that cushioning of the force of the recoil mass when stopped in open position is effected through the magazine latch bearing against lthe plunger 53 behind which is the spring 51.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments yof this invention could be `made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and `specific vfeatures of the invention herein described and all statements ofthe kscope of the invention which, as a matter of language, mightbe said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a firearm of the type in which cartridges are supplied from a magazine having a follower and in combination a receiver, a breech block mounted for reciprocation therein, a magazine latch pivoted in said receiver for releasably latching a cartridge magazine to the rearm, a stopopen latch arranged to be operated by a follower of a magazine to latch the breech block in open position after the firing of the last cartridge, means for connecting said stop-open latch to said magazine latch for movement relative thereto towards and away from the line of reciprocation of said breech block and for swinging movement relative to said magazine latch, and a spring normally urging said magazine latch to latching position.

2. In a rearm of the type in which cartridges aresupplied from a magazine having a follower and in combination a receiver, a breech block therein, a magazine latch pivoted in the receiver for releasably securing a cartridge magazine to the receiver, a spring normally urging said latch forwardly to latching position, a stop-open latch arranged to be operated by a iollower in a magazine to latch the breech block in open position after the firing of the last cartridge, and means for connecting said stop-open latch to said magazine latch for movement relative thereto towards and away from the line of reciprocation of said breech block and for swinging movement relative to said magazine latch whereby said magazine latch is moved to released position when the stopopen latch stops the breech block in open position and said spring cushions the stopping action of the breech block by said stop-open latch.

3. In a iirearm of the type in which cartridges are supplied from a magazine having a follower and in combination a receiver having an opening for accommodating a magazine', a breech block mounted for reciprocation within the receiver and adapted on its forward movement to feed the uppermost cartridge from a magazine to the ring chamber, a pivot pin in said receiver behind said opening, a magazine latch pivoted on said pin and depending therefrom, a stop-open latch pivoted on said pin and arranged to be operated by a follower of a magazine to latch the breech block in open postion after the ring of the last cartridge, means for connecting said stop-open latch to said magazine latch for movement relative thereto towards and away from the line of reciprocation of said breech block and for swinging movement relative to said magazine latch, and a spring acting on said magazine latch adjacent to but below said pivot pin for urging said magazine latch into latching position.

4. In a rearm, a receiver having an opening for accommodating a magazine, a magazine having a cartridge follower, a breech block mounted for reciprocation Within said receiver, a magazine latch pivoted in said receiver for releasably latching the cartridge magazine to the rearm, a stopopen latch operable by said follower to latch the breech block in open position after the firing of the last cartridge, means for connecting said stop-open latch to said magazine latch for movement relative thereto towards and away from the line of reciprocation of said breech block and for swinging movement relative to said magazine latch, and a spring normally urging said magazine latch to latching position.

VAL A. BROWNING. 

